West Hartford, CT Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 94-13, 'Residential recycling program establishment and requirements,' was added December 18, 1990, and amended May 10, 2005. Subsection A requires each person who generates solid waste from a residential property to separate recyclable materials from that waste, in conformance with the state statute C.G.S. § 22a-241b. Subsection B has two distinct effects for properties with fewer than four dwelling units: once recyclables are placed at the curb for collection they become the property of the Town of West Hartford, and it is a chapter violation for anyone not authorized by the Town to collect or pick up curbside recyclables, closing off informal scavenging of bins.

Subsection C carves out a resident's own right to donate or sell recyclable materials directly to any person or organization, for profit or not, so long as that material is not instead collected at the curb. Subsection D enforces the separation duty with a civil-penalty ladder tied to a twelve-month period: a written warning for a first violation, a civil penalty of no less than $50 for a second, no less than $100 for a third, and no less than $200 for a fourth and any subsequent violation, on top of possible refusal of refuse collection.

The lower penalty tier compared with § 94-12's nonresidential ladder reflects the ordinance treating households more leniently than commercial generators for the same separation duty, with the Director of Public Works and Town-designated collectors administering both programs under § 94-9 and § 94-14.